


three words, eight letters (say it and i'm yours)

by wolfstarheart



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Alcohol, Angst, Fluff, Gossip Girl AU, Highschool AU, Light Angst, M/M, NOT EXPLICIT just hinted at very briefly, Suicidal Thoughts, more characters to be added as they're introduced
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-11-19 03:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11305170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfstarheart/pseuds/wolfstarheart
Summary: Gossip Girl AU. Percy Jackson's the Upper East Side's golden boy, dating Annabeth Chase since freshman year, and he manages to be both a genuinely decent person and absolutely gorgeous. It's not like Nico, the troubled heir to billions, is secretly falling for him or anything. Right? But after they meet at a party, their lives begin to collide. And with Upper East Side drama, well, you never know what might happen.(Percabeth at the beginning, but this is a Percico fic!)





	1. one

Percy first saw Nico at a party, because how else would this story start? 

It wasn't the black-tie and wine kind of party, no, it was just a high school party. Red solo cups and drunk teenagers and shitty music. But this was the Upper East Side, so the alcohol was expensive liquor; the drugs were plentiful; and best of all, nobody worried about being busted by the cops. 

Percy, himself, wasn't getting super drunk so much as he was taking slow sips of vodka and wandering from room to room of the large penthouse apartment of-- whose was it, again? Truthfully, he didn't quite know or care. In the dining room, he walked in on a bunch of St Jude's guys playing Mario Kart and smoking weed; in the kitchen, he found a couple making out passionately against the Pollock piece on the wall and quickly backtracked; and he didn't even bother trying the bedroom doors because he had no interest in getting an eyeful of teenagers having loud, sweaty sex on someone else's bed. So, naturally, he headed for the balcony. 

And that was where he saw Nico-- or, rather, the boy he'd soon find out was named Nico. 

He was the only one there, arms resting against the railing and looking down at the city. The apartment was on the top floor, which made for a nice, albeit dizzying view. As Percy approached the sliding glass doors, he saw a bright red cup clasped in the boy's pale hand. He was probably leaning too far forward, like a bird who was trying to take off, and Percy's heart sped up despite the fact that he was probably just drunk. 

"You're not trying to jump, are you?" he asked, sliding the doors open and standing beside the boy. 

He was dark-haired, but Percy couldn't see his face from the angle he was standing at, and his new companion didn't seem inclined to turn and face him. He was shorter than Percy-- but most guys were, as he was lucky enough to have shot up several inches during the summer before junior year and now stood at a lofty 6'3"-- and was dressed in what didn't look to be designer clothes at all. The hoodie he was wearing, which was as black as his hair, was baggy and long enough to reach his mid-thighs, and Percy knew his clothes. So he knew, then, that this kid was not your average Upper East Side scion, because the rich boys he knew would rather be caught dead then step outside in anything that went for less than four hundred dollars. 

"What if I were?" said the boy at last. "I'd hardly be the first."

Percy frowned. "No, you wouldn't, but I'd be concerned if you were considering it, dude."

He heard a soft sigh, and then, finally, the boy turned to face him. With those chocolate eyes betraying not a single emotion, he told Percy slowly, "I'm not suicidal."

"Hi, Not-Suicidal, I'm Percy," Percy said before he could stop himself. (He usually didn't sound as stupid as that, so he blamed it on the alcohol despite knowing that he was probably the most sober person in the entire apartment). 

The boy smiled, thin lips quirking into a light smirk. Percy got the impression that he didn't smile much at all, because he almost looked uncomfortable doing it. "Is this a ploy to get my name? Because around here, usually you don't have to ask."

That, Percy reflected, was probably true. The people in this penthouse, certainly, all had Wikipedia pages, and featured in the tabloids daily-- unless you were a foreigner or a child, there was no way you'd not know the names of some of the richest teenagers in America. But the boy standing in front of him was throwing him for a loop, which didn't happen very often. "I've never seen you in the newspapers."

"It's Nico," said Nico, downing the rest of his drink with practiced ease, although Percy didn't miss the way his mouth turned down slightly as the taste hit him with its full force. That told him he was either young, maybe a sophomore, or not quite the binge drinker that a lot of others were at his age-- yet. "And yeah, my dad like to keep a low profile, as does my stepmother. So you wouldn't have seen me in, say, the fashion pages."

"Yeah, well, private parents or not, you're not exactly dressed for the runway yourself," Percy noted. 

Nico laughed. "I've never been into the whole fashion thing. Is that weird? No matter how much my stepmother tries to take me out on shopping trips, I just return the clothes and buy more regular hoodies."

Percy studied him curiously, the way his eyes glinted sharply, and how his jeans clung tightly to his legs, revealing an outline that was probably too skinny to be healthy. Nico, for his part, just stared straight ahead, hands clutched so tightly around the solo cup that he feared it would get crushed between those bony fingers cast into shadow by the too-long sleeves of his hoodie. "Well, you're an anomaly amongst these St Jude's kids, that's for certain." He glanced back at the room behind him, and sure enough, the few girls and boys playing what looked like Truth or Dare on the floor were all dressed impeccably. So was he, for that matter, although Percy by no means considered himself a fashion enthusiast: he just wore what looked good and stuck to it. "But how do you know them anyway? I mean, you're here with all these people, but I've never seen you around school."

"Maybe you just weren't looking," Nico countered. He turned and looked Percy right in the eyes, with an unflinching gaze that Percy could feel seizing him up and measuring him against something, some invisible standard that he kind of hoped he met. "I knew who you were right away. Percy Jackson. Your family owns the Poseidon Group. You're unique, at least compared to these guys, because your mom married a teacher instead of an oil tycoon or some Vanderbilt. Your best friends are Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Frank Zhang, and Grover What'shisname? Sorry, I forgot. Oh, and your girlfriend is Annabeth Chase. I'm not surprised that you didn't recognize me, though. I'm a sophomore, for starters, and I pretty much avoid anything that'll draw attention to myself."

Percy shrugged. "Sure, you know my friends, and about my mom, and-- okay, yeah, so you could figure out a lot about me just by Googling me, despite how creepy that is. So tell me about you, Nico. Got a girlfriend?"

He snorted. "No."

"Boyfriend?"

"I wish." 

Percy's eyes softened. "Really? You're handsome enough, in a totally platonic way. I'm sure you'd have no problem finding a date."

Nico arched an eyebrow at him. "Please. I'm hardly anyone's dream boyfriend."

Percy didn't even know the guy, so he surprised himself when he found that he was a little indignant over that comment. "You know, I'm beginning to be a bit concerned for your self-esteem." He took a long sip of his vodka and waited for it to stop burning before he continued. "I mean, you're rich, presumably, and attractive, and you have that whole mysterious bad boy vibe going on--" He was about to continue (and probably make a fool out of himself), but was interrupted by Nico positively giggling. Giggling! And he was laughing for real this time, too. Percy could tell by his eyes, because they lit up for the first time that night, and that made him oddly proud of himself. 

"Mysterious bad boy vibe?" Nico spluttered, trying his best to get his breaths under control but relapsing into laughter again. "You're quite the poet, Jackson." 

Percy pouted. "It's true, though. You have to admit it."

"Well, I dunno about being a bad boy," said Nico, "but you know my name, and that I'm a sophomore, so you can hardly call me mysterious, considering we first met, can you?" 

"That's, like, basically nothing," he said. "Okay, if you really want to shake the mysterious rep, you have to tell me something substantial about yourself." He looked expectantly at Nico, even giving him the puppy dog eyes that he knew Annabeth swooned over, and smirked when he visibly saw the other boy giving in. 

"What, like my favorite color?" Nico asked, and when Percy just looked at him, he scowled. "Black."

"Well, that's a surprise," Percy said drily. "Mine's blue, by the way. Okay, um, favorite band?"

"Queen." 

Percy's eyes lit up. "Mamaaaaaaa," he warbled, giving Nico his best Freddie Mercury impression, "just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled the trigger now he's dead--"

"I'll be dead too, if you continue butchering it," Nico said, but he didn't sound mad about it at all. Percy, for his part, just laughed and laughed. "Okay, now your turn. What's your favorite band?"

"I'd like to say something cool, like you, like, I dunno, Led Zeppelin. But, as awesome as Stairway to Heaven is, I-- okay, you promise you won't judge me?" He bit his lip and upped the ante on his puppy dog eyes (because really, he'd tell him anyway, but he wanted to see Nico get all curious). He nodded, eyes questioning, and Percy beamed. "One Direction." 

Nico stared at him blankly, and then started to laugh again. He had a nice laugh, Percy thought (if he wasn't laughing at him, that is). He got the impression that Nico didn't laugh often, but when he did, it was a whole-hearted affair: he threw his head back, and clutched his stomach, and scrunched his nose so tight his eyes began to crinkle. "You know, I didn't peg you as a One Direction guy at all, but now that you've said it, I guess it kind of fits. But who's your favorite? That's what I want to know." Nico narrowed his eyes at Percy. "I'm sensing Zayn." 

Percy's eyes flashed triumphantly. "You sensed wrong. I'm totally a Harry guy. Also, if you find the fact that I like them so hilarious, why do you know their names?" 

"Touché," Nico admitted. "But, I mean, who hasn't heard at least one of their songs? Like, I'm not totally out of the loop here, unlike my father, who refers to them as 'those British guys with the hair'." 

"Well, they're British, and they do have hair, so he's technically not wrong," Percy pointed out. "Okay, next question. What's--"

Later, he didn't remember what question he was going to ask, only that he was excited to hear Nico's answer. But as his lips parted, the doors slid open with a bang, and four extremely drunk girls pushed up between them and slung sweaty arms across both of their shoulders. "Hey, guys," giggled Drew Tanaka, whose perfume did not mask the fact that she reeked of alcohol. She was uncomfortably close, which Percy knew she'd undoubtedly be embarrassed over tomorrow, so he forgave it despite the fact that he could barely breathe. Nico, probably less used to dealing with intoxicated Constance girls than he was, flinched, and Percy could practically see the walls going back up again. He sighed. "Okay, girls, a balcony on the twentieth floor is probably not the best place for you guys to be right now, so let's go back inside, hmm?" He ushered them out, and when it was just him and Nico again, he cast him an apologetic look. "You coming?" 

Nico shook his head. "I'm going to stay out here for a bit, I guess."

Drew tugged on his arm insistently. "Per-cyyyy! Your biceps are so big," she said, and she was batting her eyes at him so violently that she didn't notice that one of her falsies had begun to hang precariously off her eyelid. 

Percy sighed and tried to brush off her hand, but the girl had a strong grip, he'd give her that. "Raincheck on this conversation, Nico?" 

"Sure." 

And as Percy turned away regretfully, trying to get Drew and her posse to stop feeling him up, he realized that he hadn't even gotten Nico's last name.


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy finds out a little bit more about Nico. Meanwhile, Nico mourns, and Gossip Girl sends out a blast.

By the time Monday came around, Percy was determined to find Nico.

He was always on the lookout for that head of shaggy dark hair. When going from one class to another; as he sat down to have lunch with Annabeth in the courtyard; and even in the toilets (just in case). He was tempted to ask about him, but no, that'd be suspicious, and anyway, he wasn't that obsessed with finding him, right?

"You look distracted," said Annabeth on Tuesday as he walked her to class after lunch ended. She turned to face Percy in the hallway, ignoring the dirty looks other students gave them as they had to swerve around them. "Is everything okay, Percy?"

Percy almost considered telling her that Nico was a no-show for two days in a row now, and that he was beginning to get worried. "I, uh," he mumbled, the story right on his lips.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Percy?"

But then his mind spiraled into a vision of what would have happened if he'd told her he was at a party that night instead of studying, and how she'd give him a disapproving look and ask him why he'd not gone with her, and so he shut his mouth quickly. "I just... didn't get much sleep last night. I was really stressed about my APUSH test, you know."

Annabeth shook her head and smiled brightly at him. "Hey, why didn't you say so! I could've helped you study, you know I aced that in my freshman year. I probably still have my notes, actually." Her stormy eyes softened, and if it wouldn't have been suspicious, he would've definitely breathed a sigh of relief at that. Annabeth knew him way too well, but it looked like he'd convinced her. "Well, hurry up! You're going to be late." And with a quick wave, she slipped into the nearby classroom. Percy, for his part, took his time getting back to class. For one, Mrs Pratchett adored him, and wouldn't mark him down as late if he walked into Chemistry a couple of minutes after the bell had gone. And also, he was still looking out for Nico. Even though it looked like he was taking yet another day off, Percy held onto the hope that he'd bump into Nico in the hallway.

But Tuesday slipped into Wednesday, and Wednesday into Thursday, and when Percy strolled into school on Friday morning he'd almost given up hope of ever seeing Nico again. He was so preoccupied with coming up with possible explanations for his disappearance (transferring? illness?) that he almost missed those honey brown eyes staring intently at a phone.

Nicowas leaning against the wall in the English corridor, apparently transfixed by whatever he was reading. He looked incredibly different in the St Jude's uniform: so different, in fact, that Percy had to stare for a few seconds more to be sure of the fact that it was him. But the longer he looked, the more it became clear that Nico was definitely here.

"Nico?" Percy called, walking up to him. He had to tap the other boy on the shoulder to get his attention, and when he did, he flinched back like he'd tried to stab him or something. "Geez, sorry, you just seemed a little, um, out of it."

Nico's eyes were blown wide open, breaths shaky, but as he looked up to see Percy's hesitant smile, he began to relax. "Percy? You scared the hell out of me," Nico said, turning off his phone quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"I go here, remember?" Percy said amusedly. "Or did you forget already?"

Nico rolled his eyes, and if Percy needed any more confirmation that the boy he was talking to was the same one he'd met at that party, this was it. "No, I mean here, with me. Your friends are probably looking for you."

Percy frowned. "And _I_ was looking for _you_. All week, actually. Where have you been? I thought you were, like, dying of the plague, or something."

"What is this, the Middle Ages?" Nico asked, cracking a smile for the first time since they'd begun talking. Then he shook his head. "No, I wasn't dying, exactly. I just, um, didn't feel all too well."

It should've been weird that he was concerned, worried about the health of a boy he'd spoken to for twenty minutes tops, but he couldn't help it as he noticed that Nico looked even paler than he did the day they'd met, if that was even physically possible. "Well, are you feeling any better?" he asked, eyes drawn to the bags under his eyes and the chapped, bitten raw lips.

"What? Um, yeah, a bit," Nico said, and ran a hand through dull hair nervously. "Listen, Percy, I have--"

But before Nico could finish his sentence, a taller, surfer-blonde boy pushed through the crowd and snapped his fingers in front of his face. "Come on, di Angelo, we have to finish that project before Mr Martin gets here, remember?" And with a heavy sigh, Nico waved slightly at Percy before following the boy into a nearby room. It was only later, once the bell had gone and he'd made his way over to first period English, did he register the fact that he finally knew Nico's last name. 

So as his eyes glazed over as Mr Levay droned on about The Great Gatsby, Percy had to wonder: who the hell was Nico di Angelo?

 

While it couldn't answer all of his questions, Googling the kid was a pretty good start. 

Curled up in his bedroom with his laptop burning his legs even through his shorts, Percy hesitantly typed in _Nico di Angelo_ into the search engine and let his cursor hover over the button. It felt slimy, like he was invading the boy's privacy, which wasn't technically true, since all of this information was public. Still, Googling people you were friends with-- even if he doubted Nico would call him that-- didn't seem like the kind of thing you did. 

But curiosity won over, and with a sigh, Percy hit enter and scrolled through the results as his frown became more pronounced. So he wasn't joking about his family being private. The articles that did come up seemed... almost too formal. He knew, for instance, that if he looked himself up (which he'd done a few times, actually) he'd find newspaper articles about what he was wearing to parties or weddings, gossip columns about him and his family, and press releases by St Jude's every time he won a swim award. But with Nico, most of what popped up were actually links to his father's website. So with a shrug, Percy clicked on the first result, ignoring the little voice in his head that was insistently calling him an internet stalker. 

The site was minimalist and dark, and right away Percy spotted the large logo at the top that read _Pluto Oil_. Scrolling through the home page, he deduced that it was a petroleum company-- a pretty large one, in fact-- but he didn't realize what any of it had to do with the boy he'd met at the party until he looked through the pages and found a photo of a grim-looking tanned man with Nico's startlingly brown eyes. 

 _Hades di Angelo,_ it read,  _is the current CEO and head of Pluto Oil, a company that has been passed down through generations of di Angelos from its founder, Uranus di Angelo. Since 1917, Pluto Oil has been dedicated to producing the finest quality petroleum, and is also the parent company of several other corporations and a charity, Pluto Cares, that Hades' wife Persephone lovingly chairs the board of._

As Percy read on, his eyes narrowed, as he finally began to piece together just who Nico was (or rather, just who his family was). It hadn't even occurred to him to make the connection between him and Hades di Angelo, but now that it was in front of him, Percy wondered how he could've missed it. Because old money be damned, Nico was easily one of the richest people at his school, heir to what looked like  _billions_. 

A photo right at the bottom of the 'About Us' page caught his eye, and he zoomed in on it to see that it was what looked like a family photo. Hades di Angelo was unmistakable at the center of it, looking even more imposing standing up, and dressed in what looked like an incredibly expensive black suit. To his right stood a considerably shorter blonde woman wearing a glittery green dress, a lady he assumed was his wife, Persephone. To his other side stood Nico, and Percy had to blink a few times to make sure that it was really him, because he looked completely different. Nico's face, only a few years younger than he was now, was rounder and brighter, and he was  _smiling_. He looked... happy, and so different from the Nico he'd met at the party that Percy entertained the thought of him having a secret twin. 

On the outer edges of the photo were two girls. One, standing beside Persephone, had dark skin and reddish-brown curly hair that flowed elegantly around her shoulders and back. She looked far younger than Nico, and he placed her at around nine at the time the photo was taken. He wondered if she was adopted, because she looked nothing like Nico (but then again, neither did Persephone, so Percy figured Hades probably had had a few marriages before this, or perhaps an illegitimate child, because you never did know with the Upper East Side). But standing next to Nico was a girl that was clearly his biological sister, because they shared the same hair, the same tan olive skin, and notably, those rich brown eyes that Percy was drawn to the moment he saw them. Little Nico was leaning ever so slightly into her, and although Percy was hardly the most observant person, even he could tell you that they looked inseparable. 

Then he looked at the caption below, and his smile faltered.  _Bianca di Angelo (far left) was Hades di Angelo's first daughter and eldest child. Pluto Cares was founded in her honor. Rest in peace (May 15, 1991-November 5, 2005).  
_

Heart pulsing uncomfortably in his throat, he checked the date in the corner of his laptop, although Percy was only kidding himself when he told himself he wasn't sure what the date was. Sure enough, it read November 9th. Percy, counting back, let out a long, long, sigh. 

Monday marked two years since Bianca di Angelo, who he assumed was Nico's sister, had died. Which meant he now knew the real reason why Nico hadn't been in school. 

He slammed his laptop shut and flopped back down, laying spread-eagled on his bed as he stared up at his ceiling. He'd had little fluorescent stars stuck up there when he was a kid, and for all that his mother complained about them, he was determined never to take them down, despite the fact that they hadn't glowed in the dark for years. Now, he remembered what his mother had told him as a kid, when he asked what'd happened to his  _real_ dad. 

"You know, Percy, the people we love-- when they die, they go up there." Sally had pointed up at the stars, glowing green against the dark surface of his ceiling, and little Percy had squinted up at them with confused eyes. 

"The stars?"

"Yes, Percy, that's where your Dad is. He's looking down on you, baby, making sure you're okay."

Now, over a decade later, Percy didn't think Nico would be much soothed at all by being told that Bianca was up in the sky smiling down at him. He had been lucky enough to grow up with a mother who loved him and a father who'd died before he was even born so he didn't have to miss him. Nico, though-- it must've been fresh in his mind, the loss of his sister still raw, and it was only two years ago. Percy remembered how the boy looked like he was about to jump when he'd walked in on him in the balcony, and flinched  despite himself. If that was only a couple of days before Bianca's death anniversary, maybe, maybe he got there just in time. 

He knew it was a stupid idea. Hell, he figured Nico would probably be furious at him for Googling him and finding out about his sister. But he could handle him being angry, because Percy knew he couldn't just leave Nico alone, all weekend, just wallowing in dark thoughts and memories. So he picked up his phone and was determined to go through every one of his contacts until he found someone who had Nico's number. 

Or at least, that's what he'd planned. But just as he was about to make his first call, his phone beeped with a message from Annabeth. 

 _So this is why you were distracted? You don't have to lie about going to parties,_  he read, and with a sinking feeling he opened up the attachment she'd sent him. 

It was a link to an article on Gossip Girl (a site he'd never been particularly interested in, even when it had started to detail every little milestone of his and Annabeth's relationship). Now, though, it had his complete attention as he stared at the photos on the site. One was a picture of him and Nico on the balcony last week at that party, hazy through the glass doors but clear enough that it was obvious who they were. The next was one of this very morning, capturing him and Nico talking in the hallway from an angle that seemed so close Percy wondered how he'd not noticed it. 

Below the photos, he read:  _Well well well, looks like Seaweed Brain's got a new friend in Death Boy. What do you think they're up to? XOXO, Gossip Girl._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you so much for reading! Criticism/suggestions are welcome, and as always you can hit me up on prongsiest.tumblr.com.


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some sally-percy bonding, and percy gets nico's number ;)

Percy swung his legs moodily underneath the glass table, his shoes slamming against the spindly wood legs every now and then. He glared daggers into his glass of blue orange juice (which is to say, orange juice with a ton of blue food coloring) for a couple of minutes, and then pushed his plate away abruptly. "Not hungry," he said, but made no attempt to stand up. 

Sally gave him a disapproving look. "When have you ever been too full for sausages?"

Percy shrugged. "Since Annabeth's been mad at me, I guess." 

Tyson, sitting opposite him, giggled softly, dragging his fork through the scrambled eggs that were piled up on his plate. "Why are you two fighting?" To that, Sally arched an eyebrow at Percy: _Why, then?_ It was a look she'd perfected over the years, and he'd become incredibly adept at figuring out what her eyebrows meant. Some people had codes, others had signals, and Sally and Percy had eyebrow-wiggling. It came in a lot of handy when they were stuck at parties or meetings and she needed to tell him something without being overheard by whatever annoying businessman or heir was pestering them at the time, but now he decided he regretted being able to decipher the look on her face. He couldn't avoid it, now, and he so desperately wanted to. 

"I went to this party," Percy began reluctantly, taking a sip of his juice, "and I kind of... didn't ask Annabeth to go with me. Or tell her, I guess."

Sally sighed. "Well, why not?"

Percy shrugged. He'd always been honest with his mother-- he had no reason to hide stuff, unlike some of the people he was friends with-- but he knew he couldn't tell her about Nico. He supposed it was an irrational feeling of guilt: Nico wouldn't ever find out if he told his mom all about his dead sister and possible deathwish, but he wanted Nico to trust him, for some bizarre reason. "I dunno. I guess I was hanging out with somebody she wouldn't exactly approve of."

Which wasn't a lie, either. Annabeth, for all her faults, was old money and conscious to a fault of what people thought of her. He couldn't judge her for that: it was very different being a girl on the Upper East Side. He'd watched his mother be judged and laughed at because she was a woman who dared to climb the ranks of New York society only a few decades earlier, and even though they had phones and the internet and a distinct lack of blue eyeshadow, things hadn't changed that much. No, he definitely understood Annabeth. It was just that he wished he never had to in the first place. 

"And you think she'd have a problem with him?" his mother asked. 

Percy shrugged. "He's very private. And he doesn't have wealth going back two centuries or more. He doesn't fit in with our group of friends, but that doesn't mean he's a bad person, right? I just wanted to make sure he was okay." He was aware that his justification for lying to Annabeth (or rather, just not telling her in the first place) was flimsy at best, but another part of him knew that Nico would flee the second he introduced him to all his friends, who could be intimidating if you didn't know him, or dragged him into the public eye while he was in the middle of mourning. Hell, maybe Nico had already skipped town. Maybe he'd got paranoid after the Gossip Girl blast. Maybe he was furious at him for letting his face be emblazoned on the home page of one of the most popular gossip columns in Manhattan.

Percy sighed. Was it so wrong to want to be friends with the kid?

Tyson stood up, almost knocking over his juice. "I'm going to play in my room." He slipped off the chair and hurtled out of the kitchen, almost running into a horrifically ugly sculpture that had been a gift from one of Sally's clients on the way. Percy watched his half-brother until he was left staring at an empty doorway. A lot of the time, he wished he could be as carefree as him. He wouldn't have to worry about girlfriends, or Gossip Girl, or parties, or mysterious dark-haired boys with dead sisters--

"Look," said Sally. "I get that it's hard to fit all these expectations and be this person that everyone expects you to be. I get that, I really do. Part of what makes my marriage with Paul so strong is that he's a breath of fresh air, someone I can be honest with after a long day of dealing with snobby rich people. But you have to give Annabeth more credit than that. She's... how do I put this?"

"Proud?" Percy supplied. "I know. I know it's hard for her to tell me she's hurt by something, but it just... I didn't think she'd be that mad that I was talking to someone new."

"Annabeth doesn't like surprises," Sally reminded him, smiling into her mug of coffee. "Remember when you tried to throw her that surprise birthday party for her thirteenth? And she ended up thinking you didn't want to hang out because you were mad at her for becoming class president?"

Percy laughed along with her. "Yeah, and she ended up crying into her cake. Paul had to run to the store and buy one ready-made because nobody would touch the first one by the time she was done with it."

With a chuckle, Sally stood up, picking up her plates and reaching out for Percy's, which he handed to her gratefully. She rinsed her hands and set the stack of dishes in the sink. Then she sighed softly. "This is kind of a surprise to her too. You, with some guy she doesn't know. God, I feel like a couples' counselor."

He snorted, walking up to wash his hands beside her. "Hey, you could always do that after you retire from the business," he joked, scrubbing away at the jam that had somehow left streaks down his palms despite the fact that he'd been  _very_ careful with his knife and fork. "God knows there are enough unhappy couples here who need to talk about stuff." (Point in case: all of his friends' parents. He could count on one hand the number of people he knew from school whose parents were happy and still together.) 

His mom rolled her eyes. "You just want to take my place." She began loading the dishes into the dishwasher, and with a yawn, Percy decided to do the same, wincing as he stuck his fingers into a glob of ketchup left over on Tyson's plate. "But seriously, just let her get used to the idea of there being new people in the circle. You guys have been friends ever since you were born, you and Annabeth and Jason and the rest of the gang. Make it less of a surprise, and she'll warm up to him."

Percy laughed, flicking a bit of foam at her. "That's wise. Also, you do know we have a housekeeper who can wash these for us?"

Sally gave him a Look. "I raised you better than this, young man," she said mock-seriously. "Washing dishes? It takes character. You don't know perseverance until there's gravy under your fingernails and your skin's practically peeling off because of the soap."

He laughed along with her, placing the very last plate inside the washer, and closed the lid. He gestured to the machine with a flourish. "We have this cool little thing that can wash our dirty dishes without getting our hands greasy. I don't know if they had it in the 1870s--"

"The  _1970s_ ," Sally corrected him, but she was snorting too. 

"--Same difference. But yeah, I don't know if they had it back then, Grammy, but this new-fangled thing's called a dishwasher. I can even teach you how to work it someday, if your arthritis isn't so bad," Percy told her, green eyes glimmering wickedly.

Suddenly, he felt grateful. (And it wouldn't even be Thanksgiving for another week or two!) He was lucky, in a lot of ways, to have his family. Sure, he was rich-- he was well aware of that-- but money couldn't buy you a mother who actually had time for you, a brother who didn't resent you, a step-father who didn't want you to be someone you're not. Somehow, he'd lucked out both ways. He knew that Annabeth's mother, for instance, would have sent her away to boarding school if she'd tried to joke around with Athena Chase like that. 

"Go along now, child, and fix your youthful drama," Sally said with a huff that didn't quite manage to hide the giggle she was holding back. 

"I will," Percy told her determinedly. He made to leave, and then stopped in his tracks, turning back around to face her. "And Mom? Thank you."

She just smiled at him. "I love you too."

 

Once he'd locked his bedroom door and flopped down on his bed, his bad mood quickly returned. He could apologize to Annabeth, sure, and assure her that he didn't intentionally ignore her or leave her out of the loop... but then there was Nico. Nico, who probably had never dealt with Gossip Girl's vicious blasts and all-seeing informants. Nico, who-- his heart clenched as he remembered-- was still feeling the aftershocks of his sister being gone two years now. 

Annabeth could wait, he decided, ignoring the guilt that gnawed on his insides. So now he had to figure out how to get in touch with the elusive Nico di Angelo. He'd already looked for social media accounts and found nothing, not even an old MySpace profile with emo profile pictures (or was that just him? Hmm.) His plan yesterday had been to text all his acquaintances and see if anyone had his number, but now that Gossip Girl had shone a light on them, he knew that it would only raise suspicions. 

As he fiddled with the drawstrings of his hoodie, it hit him (like greeeaased lightning, as Jason would say with a grin and a Danny Zuko smirk). He thought back to last year, when a bunch of the freshmen had gotten in trouble for prank-calling the school, and how they'd made it a policy to get all the students' private numbers from then on. Sure, Nico might've lied on the form-- he knew that's what a lot of kids ended up doing-- but there was a change that he didn't, and that tiny chance was all Percy needed. 

He dialed the number of St. Jude's front desk, and put on his best responsible student expression despite the fact that he was well-aware that the secretary couldn't see him. (Hey, he was just playing the part!) "Yeah, hi? It's Percy here," he said sweetly. "Percy Jackson, of course."

"Oh, hey, Percy," said the girl on the other end, and he grinned. It might just be his lucky day, because he knew Amanda far better than the other ladies. It definitely made his job a lot easier.

"Amanda! I was hoping you'd be the one who'd pick up," he said, and she giggled breathlessly from the other end of the line. Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly an honest tactic to use the fact that most girls were into him to get a boy's number, even if it was for the best of reasons. But it was too late to back out now, right? "So listen, Mandy, I have this huuuuuge project due in on Monday morning for AP World History. And, you know me, always the bad boy, right? So I may or may not have left it until the last minute." He pictured her, the little ginger twenty-something who was always chewing gum at her desk, twirling the cord of the phone around her finger like one of those old movie actresses. She'd blow a bubble, and then another, and then hopefully give into his innate adorableness... or that's what he was counting on, anyway. 

"Oh, Percy." Amanda sighed into the phone. 

"Hey, it's not entirely my fault," Percy said. "The thing is, my partner's been out all week. And somehow I seem to have lost his number. I know this is a little bit against the rules, probably, but is there any way you could find his number and tell me it?"

"I don't know, Percy," she said. He could hear her nervousness despite the slight crackling, the long pause before she continued making his palms get clammy in anticipation. "I could get in a lot of trouble for it. Confidentiality and all that."

"Amanda, listen, you know I really need my grades to be great this semester before I apply to college," he reminded her, "and, well, you've been here these last few years. You know my record hasn't exactly been... stellar. This is a one-time thing, I swear, but I just  _really_ need his number if I'm going to get that A. You feel me?" (This was why his charm always worked better in real life, Percy decided. He could turn on the puppy dog eyes and they'd turn to mush instantly. Now, all he had was his voice and his mediocre vocabulary. It would have to be enough. It had to.) 

He heard a bubble pop before she huffed loudly. "Fine, Jackson, but only because you're handsome."

Percy grinned. "You know I love you, Mandy."

She just snorted in response, and he waited while she hummed something (Britney Spears?), probably scrolling through the school's files looking for wherever the hell they stored student information. "Okay, what'd you say his name was?"

"Nico," Percy said. "Nico di Angelo."

"Spell that for me, would you?"

"N-I-C-O," he said slowly, and he could hear the sound of her typing before she let out another  _pop_. 

"Okay, I've got it. Uh, copy this down, yeah?" And so Percy scrambled through his drawers for a pen and a piece of paper, and copied down the string of numbers that he hoped was indeed the private number of Nico di Angelo. 

"Thank you, Amanda," he said when she was all done. "You're the best, I swear."

"Oh, don't try and butter me up," she said disapprovingly, but he caught the beginning of a laugh before he hung up. Then he sat there, for awhile, just staring at the crumpled piece of paper that he'd quickly flattened out to copy the number on. Getting it was the easy part. Actually working up the courage to call Nico was far more nervewracking. 

"It's now or never, Jackson," he told himself, and he resolutely began entering the numbers in on his keypad. Then, before he had the chance to chicken out, he typed out a quick text: 

**(10:14) hey Nico? its me, Percy. i dont know if u saw the Gossip Girl post, but i just wanted 2 make sure u were okay.**

He stared at it for a couple of seconds, frowning, and then quickly sent another text: 

**(10:16) :)**

Well, that was that. He lay back down on his bed, tossing his phone underneath the covers so he wouldn't end up glancing at the screen, waiting for it to light up with a response, and sighed. All there was left to do was to play the waiting game. Percy usually preferred games like Mario Kart or GTA or, well, anything that wasn't waiting for Nico di Angelo to reply to his painfully awkward texts. God, he hadn't even been this bad when he'd asked Annabeth out for the first time!

 _Annabeth_. He dug out his phone and quickly started a new message to her. He'd sent her a few shorter ones between yesterday and today, but she hadn't replied to any of them, which meant that she was well and truly giving him the silent treatment. He felt kind of like a pathetic girlfriend from one of those romcoms Jason always pretended he didn't secretly love, but he pushed back the feeling and tried to put what he'd talked about with Sally into words: 

~~**annabeth, im really sorry. i shouldnt have lied about not going 2 that party, or about being distracted, but i just kind of forgot** ~~

~~**wise girl! im super sorry. U know that.** ~~

**(10:25) annabeth, call me back? im bad at trying to say what I mean thru texts... but I guess what Im trying 2 say is that Im sorry. I dont know why I lied abt the party. We tell each other everything and I know it mustve come as a shock 2 hear something from gossip girl not me. But ILY. (I Love You!!) Ill tell u abt Nico on the phone. Luv, Percy. :)**

He hit enter, and watched as the message popped up below his older ones. He knew Annabeth had tennis class right about now, and he didn't expect her to get back to him immediately, so there was no point waiting by the phone, right? But as soon as he turned it off, the screen lit up again with Nico's name, right there, in all its glory. Huh. Ignoring the fact that his heart was pounding, Percy unlocked it again and opened up the message. 

(10:26) Hey, Percy. 

Percy blinked. That was it?

Then another one came up. 

(10:27) I'm not going to ask how you got my number, because then I'd be an accomplice to your crime, and we don't want that, do we?

Percy laughed. At least the kid was still joking around. He counted that as a good sign (or maybe he just wanted to believe that Nico wasn't incredibly mad at him for getting his face plastered all over the internet).

**(10:27) we dont indeed.**

(10:29) And yeah. I saw. My dad found out too, somehow. One of his private investigators tipped him off, probably, and he got super mad. Remember what I said about him hating us being in the papers? Turns out it extends to blogs too. So, yeah, now I'm grounded. 

**(10:30) ohh :( that sucks so bad. its not like it was ur fault rite?**

(10:32) IDK. Could've been worse. :// 

**(10:33) so i have a confession 2 make...**

(10:33) Oh yeah?

Percy gulped. It was now or never, he told himself, and with a sigh he began to type.

**(10:34) I mightve googled u. and i mightve seen something about ur sister. and i mightve figured out that thats why u were absent last week.**

For a second, it looked like Nico had decided to ignore him. But then the phone buzzed again: 

(10:34) Why the hell would you do that???

(10:34) If I'd wanted you to know, I would've told you. 

**(10:35) i was worried. u were acting weird and i didnt want you to do anything dumb. is that so wrong????**

(10:37) I know you mean well, Percy, but you have to stay away from this. 

(10:37) From me.

**(10:37) What if i dont want to?**

(10:38) Don't text me again, please. I'm sorry. 

Percy groaned, burying his head in his arms in an attempt to make the words go away. But when he looked back up at the screen, Nico's message still flickered across his screen, the pixels seemingly mocking him and his inability to get anything right.  _Don't text me again_. A bit of irritation erupted in his stomach, but he forced it down, scowling. He was just trying to be nice, for God's sake, and Nico was spitting it back in his face. Why couldn't he let Nico go? He debated deleting his contact, even blocking him. He could avoid the kid at school and pretend this last week hadn't even happened. He knew it wouldn't exactly be hard.

But then he remembered Nico standing in the balcony of that penthouse, looking out at the city like he was a bird who wanted to fly for the first time in his life, and frowned. He couldn't give up on Nico, not when he needed a friend so badly.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! This update's a little late but it's here now so.... yeah. As always hmu on my tumblr @prongsiest :)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! you can find me at prongsiest.tumblr.com. :)


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